Category Archives: Lessons

by Michael Maciel The New Age Movement has been criticized (justifiably, in my opinion) of being unable to think critically. Too much is believed simply because people want to believe it, not because it’s true. The Holy Order of MANS … Continue reading →

by Michael Maciel The Letter to the Church of Ephesus has to do with the life-giving function of the desire nature. We have to look to the real reason we are doing what we are doing—what is motivating us? Earth is … Continue reading →

by Michael Maciel The best analogy for “Oneness,” I believe, is our apparently “dualistic” visual apparatus (our eyes) and the way they work together to give depth to our perception. One eye is not enough. It takes two, not one, … Continue reading →

by Michael Maciel What is prayer? Is it a wishlist to God? Is it adulation, pleading for mercy, demanding justice, or calling for a lifeline? Sure, at times it’s all of those. But that’s not the kind of prayer that … Continue reading →

“Yet without myth, all culture loses its healthy and natural creative power: only a horizon surrounded by myths can unify an entire cultural movement. Myth alone rescues all the powers of imagination and the Apolline dream from their aimless wanderings. … Continue reading →

by Michael Maciel There is a spiritual experience called “Self-realization,” a term popularized in the spiritual movement by Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship that brings a person face-to-face, so to speak, with their own being. Call it a “point of emergence” or … Continue reading →

by Michael Maciel The central reality of our existence is the Sun at the center of our Solar System. We are immersed in its life-giving energies, as though we were “in” the Sun and not merely revolving around it at … Continue reading →

by Michael Maciel   “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” – Matthew 6:21   Jesus is telling us that we want what we value.   This is actually a straightforward observation of human nature. Whenever we … Continue reading →

by Michael Maciel There’s one type of prayer that we don’t talk about very much—creative prayer. I’m not talking about asking God for favors or using prayer as a last-ditch effort to solve a problem, but rather as a way … Continue reading →

by Michael Maciel The word “vow” seems antiquated, doesn’t it? It sounds so monastic, so religious, so restrictive. In my book, The Five Vows, I tried to develop the idea that vows, unlike the negative baggage they’re burdened with, are really … Continue reading →